Hop On, Hop Off?
Sorry for the lack of posts lately, due to staff shortages. I will strive to do the best to keep the blog alive until the members can come back due to personal reasons.
So the answer above is no more, defeating the purpose of the 'routemaster inspiration' concept. The route 148 between White City and Camberwell Green via Marble Arch, Hyde Park and Victoria. Being London United's flagship route, the route is allocated Borismasters, Borisbuses, New Buses For London, whatever you wish to call it, LT120-47, having just missed out on LT148 for route 148.
This is the first route to be fully one-person-operation (OPO), which defeats the purpose of inspirations from the Routemaster. Since the doors at the rear are automatically operated by the driver, you can't hop on and hop off anywhere on route like you traditionally did. A bit stupid, and among the public, this vehicle isn't attracting the best side of media. Especially at Go-Ahead, route 11 attracted bad attention. Unknown reasons why a driver on LT62 went off route around Chelsea, crashed into 2 buses (Abellio 9401, one of the buses involved is back) and a car, then adding to that TfL aren't that pleased that Volvo B7TL bodied Gemini 1's have made it back onto the route at least twice, once during the tube strike just within the last fortnight.
The official date for the Scanias to be sweeped off the route was the 14th February 2014, with the start date being the Saturday 15th February 2014, starting on the Friday night shift. This did go to plan, although as many of you are aware, the LT's for route 148 had to be introduced earlier due to the Tube Strike. Buses from routes 49 and 148, which are shared between the two routes, had to go to Hounslow Heath (HH) as top-ups on route H91 between Hammersmith and Hounslow West. This led to shortages at Shepherd's Bush (S) meaning the new Borismasters were the only available vehicles. About 6 of these were introduced during the strike, including chrome version LT150 on route 9.
London United have gained a good reputation with these vehicles, primarily after route 9's conversion being pitch perfect. The 148 was shortly chosen after the 9 conversion, and now sister route to 9, route 10 is to follow as the next conversion on the 26th April 2014.
Well, the conversion went quite smoothly. Most buses got onto the route, although LT140 (LTZ1140) wasn't present due to technical faults, so that's notable. Another fact is that Stamford Brook's chrome Borismaster, LT150 was present on route 148 to spread it's 'Year of the Bus' livery to other routes. It is actually very easy to move buses between Stamford Brook (V) and Shepherd's Bush (S) as they are sister garages and have similar bus types with the staff knowing each other pretty well.
Previously on the route was the Scania Omnicity double-deckers, class SP, mounted to a Scania N230UD chassis. Two batches were used, one in 2008 for the 49, and the other in 2009 for route 148. By the end of this year, Shepherd's Bush (S) will be Swedish-free of vehicles, with Volvos and Scanias heading off for Fulwell routes 281, 681 and 71. The allocation is SP29-40, excluding SP38 which is at Hounslow (AV) and the ones for 148 are SP109-135. Note that the latter batch has actually been 'withdrawn' now for refurbishment, in a similar style Metroline did when the 24 and 390 converted where a batch of TEs/ VWs stopped service until transferal. The 2008 Scanias are still in service, however will stop service on the 5th September when London United lose route 49. The Vykings will transfer quickly to Fulwell after that as well, as they have already been refurbished about 2-3 years ago.
Towards the end of the 'conventional era' of the 148, Trident ALX400s from route 94 were becoming more and more common, and about 6 of these buses were on the route at once in return for Scanias coming onto route 94. These buses are not to be withdrawn yet, as they are primarily for route 94 until the route gets 10 new buses at least, as 2/3 of the route is already using 2010 Enviro 400 Hybrids.
So before we go any further, I shall provide you a fleetlist of the Scanias, then the gallery hosting the end of the 'conventional bus' era on the 148, well, at least for now.
ALX400's were intermixed on the route on a daily basis, whether carrying adverts or not. London United's TLA17 and TLA19 demonstrate below, TLA19 carrying a Visit Thailand advert.
Last but not the very least: Short-wheelbase East Lancashire Vykings popped up on route 148 every now and then, these being part of the allocation on route 49 between Clapham Junction and White City. These appeared on the route once every few days, so weren't rare nor common.
And now the fleetlist for the Borismaster batch LT120-147, obviously like all other Borismasters, these will recieve the 'retro' Irish registration plates:
LTZ1120 - LT120
LTZ1121 - LT121
LTZ1122 - LT122
LTZ1123 - LT123
LTZ1124 - LT124
LTZ1125 - LT125
LTZ1126 - LT126
LTZ1127 - LT127
LTZ1128 - LT128
LTZ1129 - LT129
LTZ1130 - LT130
LTZ1131 - LT131
LTZ1132 - LT132
LTZ1133 - LT133
LTZ1134 - LT134
LTZ1135 - LT135
LTZ1136 - LT136
LTZ1137 - LT137
LTZ1138 - LT138
LTZ1139 - LT139
LTZ1140 - LT140
LTZ1141 - LT141
LTZ1142 - LT142
LTZ1143 - LT143
LTZ1144 - LT144
LTZ1145 - LT145
LTZ1146 - LT146
LTZ1147 - LT147
So, post February 15th 2014 now sees these iconic vehicles rule the 148 for the next decade or so, so it is worth noting what the 148's going to look like as you will have to get used to the sight of these vehicles:
Well, that's all from me for now, expect a few more posts to come out soon. Massive thanks to EHBusman1958 for allowing us to use his photos. Please do not reproduce these photos without his permission.
So the answer above is no more, defeating the purpose of the 'routemaster inspiration' concept. The route 148 between White City and Camberwell Green via Marble Arch, Hyde Park and Victoria. Being London United's flagship route, the route is allocated Borismasters, Borisbuses, New Buses For London, whatever you wish to call it, LT120-47, having just missed out on LT148 for route 148.
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| London United SP120 (YR59 FZB) on route 148 to Camberwell Green. ©EHBusman1958 |
This is the first route to be fully one-person-operation (OPO), which defeats the purpose of inspirations from the Routemaster. Since the doors at the rear are automatically operated by the driver, you can't hop on and hop off anywhere on route like you traditionally did. A bit stupid, and among the public, this vehicle isn't attracting the best side of media. Especially at Go-Ahead, route 11 attracted bad attention. Unknown reasons why a driver on LT62 went off route around Chelsea, crashed into 2 buses (Abellio 9401, one of the buses involved is back) and a car, then adding to that TfL aren't that pleased that Volvo B7TL bodied Gemini 1's have made it back onto the route at least twice, once during the tube strike just within the last fortnight.
The official date for the Scanias to be sweeped off the route was the 14th February 2014, with the start date being the Saturday 15th February 2014, starting on the Friday night shift. This did go to plan, although as many of you are aware, the LT's for route 148 had to be introduced earlier due to the Tube Strike. Buses from routes 49 and 148, which are shared between the two routes, had to go to Hounslow Heath (HH) as top-ups on route H91 between Hammersmith and Hounslow West. This led to shortages at Shepherd's Bush (S) meaning the new Borismasters were the only available vehicles. About 6 of these were introduced during the strike, including chrome version LT150 on route 9.
London United have gained a good reputation with these vehicles, primarily after route 9's conversion being pitch perfect. The 148 was shortly chosen after the 9 conversion, and now sister route to 9, route 10 is to follow as the next conversion on the 26th April 2014.
Well, the conversion went quite smoothly. Most buses got onto the route, although LT140 (LTZ1140) wasn't present due to technical faults, so that's notable. Another fact is that Stamford Brook's chrome Borismaster, LT150 was present on route 148 to spread it's 'Year of the Bus' livery to other routes. It is actually very easy to move buses between Stamford Brook (V) and Shepherd's Bush (S) as they are sister garages and have similar bus types with the staff knowing each other pretty well.
Previously on the route was the Scania Omnicity double-deckers, class SP, mounted to a Scania N230UD chassis. Two batches were used, one in 2008 for the 49, and the other in 2009 for route 148. By the end of this year, Shepherd's Bush (S) will be Swedish-free of vehicles, with Volvos and Scanias heading off for Fulwell routes 281, 681 and 71. The allocation is SP29-40, excluding SP38 which is at Hounslow (AV) and the ones for 148 are SP109-135. Note that the latter batch has actually been 'withdrawn' now for refurbishment, in a similar style Metroline did when the 24 and 390 converted where a batch of TEs/ VWs stopped service until transferal. The 2008 Scanias are still in service, however will stop service on the 5th September when London United lose route 49. The Vykings will transfer quickly to Fulwell after that as well, as they have already been refurbished about 2-3 years ago.
Towards the end of the 'conventional era' of the 148, Trident ALX400s from route 94 were becoming more and more common, and about 6 of these buses were on the route at once in return for Scanias coming onto route 94. These buses are not to be withdrawn yet, as they are primarily for route 94 until the route gets 10 new buses at least, as 2/3 of the route is already using 2010 Enviro 400 Hybrids.
So before we go any further, I shall provide you a fleetlist of the Scanias, then the gallery hosting the end of the 'conventional bus' era on the 148, well, at least for now.
YN08 DHU - SP29
YN08 DHV - SP30
YN08 DHX - SP31
YN08 DHY - SP32
YN08 DHZ - SP33
YN08 MRU - SP34
YN08 MRV - SP35
YN08 MRX - SP36
YN08 MRY - SP37
YP58 ACJ - SP39
YP58 ACO - SP40
(As stated above, SP38 is not part of this batch and is at Hounslow. So it has been deliberately missed out)
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| On a daily basis, the batch from route 49 was intermixed with those on route 148 as demonstrated in this shot. London United's SP37 (YN08 MRY) is seen on route 148 towards Camberwell Green whilst in Shepherd's Bush Green. ©EHBusman1958 |
And now for the batch intended for route 148:
YR59 FYO - SP109
YR59 FYP - SP110
YR59 FYS - SP111
YR59 FYT - SP112
YR59 FYU - SP113
YR59 FYV - SP114
YR59 FYW - SP115
YR59 FYX - SP116
YR59 FYY - SP117
YR59 FYZ - SP118
YR59 FZA - SP119
YR59 FZB - SP120
YR59 FZC - SP121
YR59 FZD - SP122
YR59 FZE - SP123
YR59 FZF - SP124
YR59 FZG - SP125
YT59 PBF - SP126
YT59 PBO - SP127
YT59 PBV - SP128
YT59 PBX - SP129
YT59 PBY - SP130
YT59 PBZ - SP131
YT59 PCF - SP132
YT59 PCO - SP133
YT59 PCU - SP134
YT59 PBU - SP135
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| London United's SP112 (YR59 FYT) is seen near journey's end, at Shepherd's Bush Green, on route 148 towards White City. Buses take a slightly different routing on the 148 unlike all other White City bound routes, which go via Ariel Way. Route 148 however goes via Ariel Way, but before that uses Wood Lane, then Ariel Way for White City Bus Station. ©EHBusman1958 |
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| London United's SP134 (YT59 PCU) is seen on route 148 towards Camberwell Green near the beginning of the journey, at Shepherd's Bush Green. ©EHBusman1958 |
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| London United SP111 (YR59 FYS) is seen on the route 148 to White City in Grosvenor Gardens, Victoria. ©EHBusman1958 |
Other workings before the service change included:
The Enviro 400 Hybrids that do run the majority of the 94 did pop up on route 148 every now and then, as EHBusman1958 demonstrates his sightings of London United's ADH14 (SN60 BYK) near Grosvenor Gardens, Victoria.
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| ©EHBusman1958 |
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| Visit Thailand is the theme of this bus as London United's TLA19 (SN53 KHU) makes it's way around Grosvenor Gardens, Victoria. ©EHBusman1958 |
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| London United's TLA17 (SN53 KHR) is seen on route 148 towards White City Bus Station at Victoria, Grosvenor Gardens. This was a common working daily. ©EHBusman1958 |
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| London United's VE6 (PG04 WGX) on Shepherd's Bush Green, route 148 towards Camberwell Green. ©EHBusman1958 |
And now the fleetlist for the Borismaster batch LT120-147, obviously like all other Borismasters, these will recieve the 'retro' Irish registration plates:
LTZ1120 - LT120
LTZ1121 - LT121
LTZ1122 - LT122
LTZ1123 - LT123
LTZ1124 - LT124
LTZ1125 - LT125
LTZ1126 - LT126
LTZ1127 - LT127
LTZ1128 - LT128
LTZ1129 - LT129
LTZ1130 - LT130
LTZ1131 - LT131
LTZ1132 - LT132
LTZ1133 - LT133
LTZ1134 - LT134
LTZ1135 - LT135
LTZ1136 - LT136
LTZ1137 - LT137
LTZ1138 - LT138
LTZ1139 - LT139
LTZ1140 - LT140
LTZ1141 - LT141
LTZ1142 - LT142
LTZ1143 - LT143
LTZ1144 - LT144
LTZ1145 - LT145
LTZ1146 - LT146
LTZ1147 - LT147
So, post February 15th 2014 now sees these iconic vehicles rule the 148 for the next decade or so, so it is worth noting what the 148's going to look like as you will have to get used to the sight of these vehicles:
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| Brand spanking new on the first day is London United's LT122 (LTZ 1122) on route 148, Elephant & Castle on the homecoming to White City. Note how the advert frames are completely white, same happened on the route 390 conversion. Prior to this, adverts had either been stickered up or it was just red like other conventional buses. |
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| London United LT125 (LTZ1125) is seen at Cumberland Gate, Marble Arch on the homecoming to White City. ©EHBusman1958 |
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| London United LT134 (LTZ1134) is seen at Hyde Park Corner Station en-route to White City. ©EHBusman1958 |
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| London United LT121 (LTZ1121) is seen on route 148 towards White City, in Cumberland Gate, Marble Arch. ©EHBusman1958 |
Well, that's all from me for now, expect a few more posts to come out soon. Massive thanks to EHBusman1958 for allowing us to use his photos. Please do not reproduce these photos without his permission.
Thanks for Reading!
Feel free to Comment Below!
Just to let you know, route 10 will convert next on the 26th April 2014 and the 8 will convert after that on the 28th June 2014. Hopefully Transport for London will confirm the next route (after the 8) to be converted to NB4Ls (Borismasters).
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